Nissan Micra 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

48.6% of 91,991 MOT tests of the Nissan Micra first registered in 2003 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 101.0 (95% CI 100.1–102.0; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Nissan Micra built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	48.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	91991
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 100.1–102.0)	101.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	91991
Rank among this model's 23 build years	17	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	91991
Tested in 2024	9277	tests	median 75,202 miles	2024	9277

Built 2003 against Nissan Micra normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 49.6% vs 50.2%; age 17: 48% vs 47.6%; age 18: 48.7% vs 48.1%; age 19: 48.2% vs 46.9%; age 20: 47.9% vs 47%; age 21: 48.3% vs 46.4%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Nissan Micra by registration · All Nissan Micra MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2003 Nissan Micra fail at each age?

Cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Nissan Micra built 2003: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
16	24,052	49.6	48.9–50.2	50.2	98.7
17	18,597	48	47.3–48.7	47.6	100.9
18	15,657	48.7	47.9–49.5	48.1	101.2
19	13,125	48.2	47.4–49.1	46.9	102.8
20	11,283	47.9	46.9–48.8	47	101.7
21	9,277	48.3	47.2–49.3	46.4	103.9

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 91,991 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2003 Nissan Micra?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 60.7 items per 100 first tests, against 27.8 across all build years of the Nissan Micra. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Nissan Micra built 2003 against the Nissan Micra in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	60.7	27.8	55,802
Suspension	30.4	21.5	27,924
Visibility	13.9	10.7	12,756
Body, chassis, structure	10.8	7.7	9,907
Brakes	10.8	10.3	9,890

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 91,991 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2003 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Nissan Micra, 2003 ranks 17 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 96.7. 2004: index 103.4.

Nissan Micra build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	100.9	97.8–104.0	no different	7,815
1999	98.2	96.1–100.2	no different	17,919
2000	101.7	99.9–103.4	no different	26,324
2001	99.0	97.6–100.4	no different	39,429
2002	96.7	95.6–97.7	better	68,903
2003	101.0	100.1–102.0	worse	91,991
2004	103.4	102.4–104.3	worse	93,876
2005	105.5	104.7–106.4	worse	121,227
2006	98.2	97.4–99.1	better	124,991
2007	97.9	96.9–98.9	better	88,788
2008	93.5	92.6–94.5	better	92,711
2009	97.6	96.6–98.6	better	99,796
2010	102.0	100.9–103.0	worse	98,496
2011	99.9	98.7–101.1	no different	77,029
2012	107.1	105.7–108.4	worse	69,478
2013	100.2	98.8–101.6	no different	69,166
2014	93.0	91.7–94.3	better	84,836
2015	90.8	89.4–92.2	better	78,055
2016	100.6	98.9–102.4	no different	64,555
2017	113.5	111.5–115.4	worse	65,232
2018	100.7	98.3–103.2	no different	40,531
2019	86.4	83.4–89.5	better	26,066
2020	83.3	78.8–87.8	better	12,576

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,559,790 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Nissan Micra 2003 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/nissan-micra/2003/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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